Brighter future for homeless youth on Night Cafe menu

When I sit down with Harley to talk to him about life and the challenges he's faced, I'm surprised at his willingness to share with me, what has been some dark times in his short life.

He's wearing a surf brand singlet and some shorts, which is not unusual for this balmy Brisbane night, and his warm smile makes me think he can't be a day over 24.

A few years ago Harley was a pretty carefree young man who had friends, a job and had just moved out of home.

Life should have been sweet; someone like Harley should have had the world at his feet and a bright future.

But he was quick to learn that his future was to be filled with sleeping on concrete floors, not knowing where his next meal would come from and losing some of those 'friends' as the reality of homelessness set in.

"Where do I start... It's been pretty hectic. I moved up here went to go to school, got a job and moved out of home, but that didn't end well.

"I injured myself; I lost my job and ended up on the streets. I did a lot of bad things and ended up in court."

The time Harley spent living on the streets was the hardest of his young life.

"It was difficult. Never having anywhere to go, what I was going to do for a shower, for food... I was lucky I had a couple of mates that did let me drop in for food and showers."

But those friends eventually got sick of being the drop in centre.

"After a while I pushed it, I tried staying there too many nights that I should have..."

Harley found solace at the Red Cross' run Night Cafe in Brisbane, which offers young people a place to escape life on the street to shower, have a hot meal and to talk to youth workers about their situation.

"I came to Red Cross one night about a year ago and things started to get better from here."

Executive Director of the Red Cross in Queensland, Kevin Keeffe says the Night Cafe is the safe place young people can come for confidential support.

"This is part of the landscape for young people trying to find pathways out of homelessness.

"They don't bring the arguments from the street into the night cafe. They recognise the Red Cross as a neutral, impartial, confidential place. And we treat them as guests and they appreciate that."

Up to 30 people will access the Cafe on any Tuesday or Thursday night, which on the surface allows the young people to access the crisis services for their immediate needs; long term Mr Keeffe says the organisation is trying to build the pathway out of homelessness.

"We look after their immediate needs, but really in terms of addressing the vulnerabilities of people at risk of homelessness, you have to do a lot of complex work to deal with those issues. It's never one reason.

"We want to make sure they get from the streets to a safe sustainable tenancy in secure housing."

Harley now has somewhere to call home and another steady job, but he still visits the Night Cafe when it opens its doors to the homeless youth of Brisbane two nights a week.

"I know most people by name, and they know me by name. It's pretty important. I wouldn't be where I am now without these people," he says, "Now I'm doing pretty good."

Harley's situation is not uncommon. Through a series of unfortunate circumstances, and sometimes bad decision making, young people find themselves at what feels like the end of the line.

"Stuff happens in life that you can't always control.

"Maybe [people] should learn where they came from and what happened to them before you judge," Harleys says.

And it's only in the safe environment of the Night Cafe, with the friendly, familiar and non-judgemental faces of youth workers, that these young people tell their stories.

"It's really important that we don't jump to conclusions that stereotype them. There are all sorts of stories that mean people become homeless.

"There are many, many stories that come out...Struggles they've had with relationships or struggles they've had with their family, they've had to leave home...we get young people that come from all over Queensland," Mr Keeffe says.

"Young people need to know that there is a place for them to go, and that they won't be judged when they're here," Harley says.

The Night Cafe opens their doors to people under 25 who're homeless or at risk of homelessness on Tuesday and Thursday night at the Brisbane City Hall.

The Night Cafe in Brisbane invites young homelessness off the streets on a Tuesday and Thursday night to have a shower, something to eat and access to medical and mental health services.
(Colin Palmer - everystockphoto.com)